CANADA • Roma Viral Patel, 1 month old ~ Toronto ON

December 31, 2010

Woman charged after baby abducted

Baby found before Amber Alert issued

Police were poised to issue an Amber Alert early Friday morning before locating a one-month-old baby girl and the woman who allegedly abducted her.

The child's parents alerted police to the disappearance at 12:30 a.m.

Toronto police spokesperson Const. Isabelle Cotton said the baby was taken from a building on Birmingham Street when the mother was preoccupied filling out paperwork for a movie casting call.
Police launched an investigation, which included processing paperwork to issue an Amber Alert when a friend of the suspect turned the baby in to police around 3 a.m. at 41 Division in Scarborough, Cotton said.

An Amber Alert is a public warning system used by police that widely broadcasts descriptions of missing children, their alleged abductors and vehicles involved via media outlets and digital billboards
on provincial highways.

A 24-year-old woman has been charged with abduction of a person under the age of 14.
The motive for the kidnapping is not yet known.
Cotton said the parents do not know the suspect.

http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/local/article/923556--woman-charged-after-baby-abducted

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TORONTO - A 24-year-old New York City woman is due in court Saturday accused of abducting a one-month-old baby in Toronto.

Police allege the child was abducted after her parents took the baby to a casting audition in the Birmingham Street and Islington Avenue area of west Toronto.

Investigators say that with the assistance of the public, police located the child in east Toronto.

The accused was apprehended shortly after.

Michelle Marie Gopaul is charged with abduction of a person under 14.

Police say they were preparing an Amber Alert when the baby was located.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/police-arrest-new-york-woman-after-baby-taken-at-casting-call-in-toronto-112718899.html

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Woman charged with abducting baby allegedly told friends she was pregnant
Jan.01, 2011


A New York model and musical artist who came to Canada to study and had been telling friends she was pregnant has been charged with abduction after allegedly walking out of a Toronto studio with someone else’s newborn.

For close to 10 hours Thursday afternoon, Frank Berti followed Michelle Marie Goupal in and out of the studio space at 175 Birmingham St. in the city’s west end. The woman, clad in jeans, a dark blue bomber jacket and a wide-brimmed hat -- so low that "when she talked to me, she had to look up so she could get clearance over the hat.”

She needed space -- and quickly -- for auditions she had scheduled.

Mr. Berti was doing electrical work for Videos a la Carte while its owners were out of town and the office was closed for the holidays. At first he refused the woman’s request to use the space, which wasn't his to rent out, but “she kept asking so I said, ‘Look I’ll call the owner.’"

“She seemed like a girl in a bind,” said Nathalie Malette, who owns the company and spoke with the woman on the phone from Ottawa. So she agreed – but only for 15 minutes, she said.

That 15 minutes stretched for the rest of the day and much of the night as the woman, who never gave Mr. Berti her name but told him she was casting for an Indian-style film, got him to help her organize the space, drive her to a library to use the Internet and make calls on his cellphone to confused people looking for an audition.

About a dozen people – all of Indian descent, Mr. Berti said – filed in and out of the space, almost all with newborn infants in tow.

Finally, closing in on 11 p.m., one man remained in the office with his baby. Mr. Berti was working in the back room, as he had been for much of the afternoon. The woman was conducting her interviews in a room that opened into both the front and back portion of the office space.

Suddenly, the man emerged.

“He asks me, ‘Have you seen the lady?’ And I said 'No, I haven’t.' Then he goes to me, ‘Well, she asked if she could take the baby for a minute. And I gave her the baby.’

“Now here’s the physical situation. … I couldn’t see her leave and he couldn’t see her leave.”

But the woman was gone.

Kris Fernandez, who went to the same New York school with Ms. Gopaul and worked with her through his film production company, recalls finding out a couple of months ago through friends and Facebook posts that she was pregnant. He doesn’t know how far along, however.

“Really close friends of hers had been congratulating her and things like that. I think she had even posted a comment [on Facebook] regarding that. ... That was probably a few months ago.”

After the woman’s disappearance from the Birmingham Street office, a frantic series of phone calls ensued as Mr. Berti and the man met up with the baby’s mother, who had been waiting in the car. They phoned police, who were able to trace the woman thanks to the phone calls she had been making from Mr. Berti's cellphone. Mr. Berti and the parents were taken to the 22 Division police station for questioning.

Mr. Berti said he overheard police talking about Craigslist ads in relation to the audition. As of Friday, there were several ads on Craigslist asking for a newborn Indian baby girl for a Hindi or Bollywood movie. Most provided the same e-mail address; e-mails to the address Friday were not returned. While earlier ads offered $7,500 compensation, more recent ads offered as much as $15,000.

But Mr. Berti said the baby’s mother had found out about the audition through a friend of a friend, who had set up the appointment. After the baby disappeared, the parents called the man repeatedly to find out what was going on, but Mr. Berti said he appeared to be none the wiser.

Police apprehended the 24-year-old woman close to 3 a.m. Friday morning. Toronto Police Constable Tony Vella said a man who knows Ms. Gopaul saw her with a baby he knew wasn’t hers and contacted police. Constable Vella wouldn’t identify the man who returned the baby to authorities.

Ms. Gopaul has been charged with abduction of a person under 14 years old. She appears in court at Toronto’s Old City Hall Saturday.

Mr. Fernandez says he met her Ms. Gopaul when she discovered his film work on YouTube. They corresponded online at first and she did some acting work for one of his short films. He was supposed to follow her on tour in 2008, he says, but those plans fell through.

They last spoke several months ago. He said Ms. Gopaul, who divided her time between Toronto and New York, said she planned to come to Canada to study but he didn’t know what subjects or at what school.

Mr. Fernandez said Ms. Gopaul kept busy between modelling – largely glamour shots, he said, “swimsuits and things like that” – and music, which he felt was her real passion.

“She did pretty well. I know she had a pretty big fan base,” he said. “She was recording at professional studios and everything.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/woman-charged-with-abduction-after-baby-allegedly-taken-at-audition/article1854125/

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Alleged baby abductor denied bail
January 1, 2011 | 12:57 PM ET

A New York City woman accused of abducting a baby girl in Toronto has been denied bail.

Michelle Marie Gopaul, 24, appeared at the Old City Hall court shortly before noon on New Year's Day. With her arms folded across her chest, Gopaul was dressed in a grey jacket and black pants, her hair dishevelled.

She spoke briefly to the duty counsel and spelled out her last name for the judge. Her aunt, Rita Gopaul, was also in the courtroom.

Outside court, Rita Gopaul told the Toronto Star that her niece is very upset. "I can't say anything...not until I speak to her parents."

The accused woman's parents, who live in New York City, are flying to Toronto as soon as they can, the aunt said.

Police arrested Gopaul around 3 a.m. Friday in the Midland Avenue and Eglinton Avenue East area and recovered a one-month-old baby who went missing four hours earlier from a western Toronto production studio during a purported casting call. Police said Gopaul, an aspiring performer, has been living in Toronto for several months.

Police were about to issue an Amber Alert when the baby was found unharmed.

Gopaul is due back in court on Tuesday, charged with abducting a person under the age of 14.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2011/01/01/baby-abductor001.html#ixzz19oR9wOft

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Woman accused of taking baby remanded in custody
Updated: Tue Jan. 04 2011 4:42:04 PM


Michelle Marie Gopaul is seen in this undated YouTube image.

TORONTO — The tearful mother of a New York model charged in a bizarre baby abduction at a movie casting call was in a Toronto courtroom as her daughter appeared briefly Tuesday.

Michelle Marie Gopaul, 24, is accused of snatching a one-month-old baby girl after taking part in what appears to have been a bogus casting call for a Bollywood movie last week.

Gopaul appeared in green jailhouse garb as her lawyer Gary Batasar asked that the case be put off until next Tuesday to give him time to prepare.

Police allege a one-month-old baby girl was abducted last Thursday night after her parents took her to a casting call for a movie shoot that had been advertised on Craigslist. The unharmed baby was returned to her parents a few hours later.

Outside court, Batasar said Gopaul was not denied bail during her court appearance on Saturday and in fact had not yet had a bail hearing.

"She is in jail, she is obviously upset," he said of his client.

Batasar said the case is still in the preliminary stages and he was still waiting for documents from the prosecution.

"This matter will be tried in the courts, not in the media," he said.

His client is "doing well" and is being supported by her family, despite what he called the "traumatic circumstances," he said.

"The family members are obviously very concerned about her well-being and we're here to do the best we can here for her."

Gopaul's visibly upset mother, who had travelled to Toronto from New York City to attend court, admitted it was a difficult time. She said she was "very sad" but didn't want to speak with the media.

Batasar said he expected U.S. consular officials to be in touch with his client at the earliest opportunity.

The fact that Gopaul and her relatives are American citizens complicates the case in terms of finding a surety, who must be Canadian or have property in Canada, he said.

Police have said the baby's parents reported her missing after taking her to a casting call for a movie.

They allege a woman claiming to work for the casting agency told the parents she would keep an eye on the child but the parents soon discovered both she and their baby were missing.

Authorities were about to issue an Amber Alert on the missing child when a member of the public brought her to a police station.
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110104/gopaul-returns-court-110104/20110104?hub=TorontoNewHome

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Cabbie's wild ride with alleged baby snatcher


Roma Viral Patel was abducted for several hours overnight on Thursday.

As a cabbie in Toronto, Jaswinder Singh has seen drunks barfing in his cab, people snarling over fare, even changing clothes in the back. Then late Thursday, he ferried a young woman with a baby from south Etobicoke to Scarborough. His strangest ride ever, he said.
“She was pushing me to drive fast, run through red lights,” said Singh in an interview. “Who does that with a baby in your arms?”
Michelle Marie Gopaul, 24, of New York City, is charged with abduction of an infant. She was denied bail on Saturday and will be back in court on Tuesday.
The bizarre story, now viral on the blogosphere, is still unravelling as new details come to light.
It started on Dec. 19 when ads appeared on Craigslist offering up to $15,000 for an Indian baby girl to star in a Bollywood film.
Prospects were asked to send a headshot to an email address.
On Thursday afternoon, a young woman calling herself Dianne Miller managed to persuade the owner of A La Carte Video, a production studio at Birmingham St., near Islington Ave., to let her use the space briefly for auditions.
At least four couples, their babies in their arms, came for auditions from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. One of those was Sejal and Viral Patel.
Their one-month old daughter, Roma, disappeared at about 10:45 p.m. She was found near Eglinton Ave. and Midland Rd. at about 3 a.m. and reunited with her family.
“If I had known it wasn’t her child, I would have taken her straight to a police station,” said Singh, who drove the alleged abductor from Etobicoke to Scarborough.
He said he responded to a call for a cab at about 10:30 p.m. The address was 175 Birmingham St. When he got there, a woman told him on the phone that she would be downstairs “shortly.”
Singh said when 15 minutes went by, he called her. “She said she was waiting for a friend to bring her baby and she would be out soon. It was a busy night, but when she said baby, I thought I’ll wait.”
A woman, wearing black, came out 10 minutes later, apologized, threw a bag in the back and said she’ll be back with the baby soon, said Singh.
She returned with a baby after 15 minutes, he said.
“She got into the car and started saying, ‘drive, drive, let’s go,” said Singh. “I asked her if everything was OK. She said it was.”
His passenger, said Singh, asked him to go faster and blow through red lights. “I refused and told her that she was out of her mind.”
Singh, who by then was worried he wouldn’t get his cab-fare, asked her if she had money. She asked him to drive to a Money Mart for cash but realized within moments that she didn’t have any ID, he said.
She was on the phone with someone, said Singh. “She was begging some girl called Natasha to help her . . . she was saying, ‘I’ll never forget. Keep my baby for a few hours.’ ”
Then he drove her to a Tim Hortons at Kennedy Rd. and Eglinton Ave. E. in Scarborough, he said. Three girls and a guy were waiting for his passenger, he said. “They gave me $90,” said Singh.
Hours later, he was questioned by police.
“I was so glad to hear the little girl is back with her parents,” he said.
Police said they located Roma with a woman near Eglinton and Midland Ave., less than a kilometre away from where Singh dropped a woman and baby off.
Meanwhile, some South-Asian parents who also “auditioned” were counting their blessings.
Vipul Patel went with his wife, Manisha, and eight-week-old daughter Jeny.
“Jeny was crying loudly . . . we were out within minutes,” he said.
He lives in the same apartment building as Viral Patel whose daughter, Roma, went missing for four hours on Thursday. “We were all terrified when he heard about it. It’s a lesson learned.”
It is, said Bhupendra Mane, a young Centennial College student who passed on the information about the Craigslist ad to some of his friends, including Vipul Patel.
“I was just trying to help some friends make money,” he said. “I know at least two of my friends went there with their babies.
“I don’t know what I would have done if it had ended badly.”
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/914928--cabbie-s-wild-ride-with-alleged-baby-snatcher?bn=1#article

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Updated: January 6, 2011

Model misled ex claiming she was pregnant

A Manhattan model and actress accused of kidnapping a newborn baby misled her ex-Scarborough boyfriend and his twin sisters for months claiming she was pregnant with his child, the Toronto Sun learned.

Sources told the Sun that Marie Michelle Gopaul told them through a cousin she’d given birth to a six-pound baby girl in mid-December.

Afterwards, Gopaul kept skipping meetings with her boyfriend’s sisters who were eager to see her newborn baby. The sisters became deeply concerned because Gopaul suddenly became inaccessible.

The 24-year-old Gopaul, who appeared to be much heavier than her website publicity photos, is now in custody on an abduction charge and is due back in court Tuesday.

Police are alleging the baby Roma Patel was abducted during a bogus “Bollywood” film audition in Islington and was whisked away in a Beck cab to Scarborough.

Several months ago, the boyfriend’s 20-year-old sister, a University of Toronto student, spotted “an ultrasound picture” on Gopaul’s Facebook account, indicating she was pregnant.

When the sister informed her brother, Ken, that his ex-girlfriend was expecting, he thought the child was his.

The sisters then become “very involved in the ongoing prenatal care” of Gopaul, phoning her almost daily.

They wanted to ensure she was eating well and the twin sisters bought her clothes as well.

The sister also purchased Gopaul a car seat for their future “niece.”

Gopaul, who had moved back to Toronto from New York in October, said her “baby” was due Dec. 17.

Shortly before the due date, Gopaul became extremely ill and was vomitting and the sisters brought her to Scarborough Centenary Hospital for medical attention.

But Gopaul, who has no local health insurance since she is an American, received no treatment and was released.

Gopaul reportedly told a friend she couldn’t say where she gave birth because she was too medicated to remember which hospital delivered her child.

After the mysterious “birth,” Gopaul refused to answer the boyfriend sisters’ phone calls. This heightened the girls’ fears.

Gopaul was supposed to meet her boyfriend’s twin sisters, 20, at the Scarborough Town Centre at noon Dec. 30.

But Gopaul kept cancelling and stalling. She used excuses such as a relative’s death and that she had lost her purse and passport in a cab and was waiting for the police or cabbie to retrieve it.

“The sisters believed it was a lie and they came concerned about the baby’s welfare,” the source indicated.

Gopaul was willing to give custody of her newborn daughter to her ex-boyfriend Ken on the night she was arrested for abduction last Friday, the source stated.

The 24-year-old New York model-actress agreed to meet her ex-boyfriend at a Tim Hortons shop in the Kennedy Rd.-Eglinton Ave. E. area.

When Gopaul showed up with an hysterically-crying child who badly needed a diaper change, the sisters grew suspicious. The child appeared to be simply too old to have been born only two weeks ago.

The baby, who was a three-month-old child, lacked the umbilical cord remnants of a newborn child. The sisters also realized the car seat wasn’t the one they’d purchased for her earlier.

The child was returned unharmed to her parents only hours after being abducted from the west end studio.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2011/01/06/16790566.html

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Lawyer of accused in baby abduction hopeful for bail
January 11, 2011 | 7:26 PM ET

The lawyer for accused baby snatcher Michelle Marie Gopaul says he's optimistic his client will be released on bail next week.

The New York City-area model, actress and aspiring singer was back in a Toronto courtroom Tuesday where a bail hearing was set for Jan. 21.

Gopaul, 24, is charged with a bizarre baby abduction at a bogus movie casting call on Dec. 30.

Her lawyer said Gopaul, who is from the Hollis neighbourhood of Queens, has a student visa and is a "viable candidate for release."

"My client has no criminal record, no outstanding charges and [it's her] first time before a court," Gary Batasar said outside court.

Gopaul, who is charged with abduction of a person under the age of 14, is in "better spirits" than her last court appearance, although her family remains concerned, he added.

Batasar spoke Tuesday with immigration officials who are doing their own investigation. He said Gopaul has been living in Toronto legally to study at the Fiorio hair salon.

Abigail St. Pierre, a spokeswoman for the salon, said in an email that Gopaul had submitted an application but is not currently a student there.

Wearing green prisoner garb during her appearance Tuesday, Gopaul looked straight ahead as her aunt sat in the courtroom.

Outside court, Rita Gopaul said she had "no idea" how her niece got into such a situation.

"She's a beautiful, kind, loving, caring, very family-oriented person, so your guess is as good as mine," said Gopaul.

Batasar refused comment on media reports Gopaul had recently faked a pregnancy and told friends and relatives she had given birth.

When asked if her niece had ever expressed a desire to have children, Rita Gopaul said "not that I know of."

Police allege one-month-old Roma Patel was abducted after her parents took her to a fake casting call for a Bollywood movie shoot advertised on Craigslist. The ad offered $15,000 in compensation.

The audition took place at A la Carte Videos in Toronto's west end. Its owner, Nathalie Malette, said a woman told her she'd rented the yoga studio next door but that the deal fell through and she wanted to use Malette's studio for 15 minutes for auditions for an Indian film.

Malette said she later learned from police that a baby had allegedly been abducted from the studio.

Electrician Frank Berti, who let the woman in, said he let her use the studio longer than planned after she said the people she was auditioning were delayed.

The woman seemed friendly and smiled a lot, said Berti, adding he let her use his phone and drove her to a library to use the Internet.

Four babies were brought by parents to the studio, including the one who was allegedly abducted, he said.

Berti said the father didn't realize at first that his baby was missing and didn't call police until about 20 minutes later.

The unharmed baby girl was returned to her parents a few hours later.

Gopaul's lawyer said her mother is in New York but will return for her daughter's bail hearing.

When asked if Gopaul would live with her aunt if released, Batasar said other sureties are available.

Batasar said he thought the story was getting so much attention because of the "unique circumstances of the case" and the fact that Gopaul is from the United States.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2011/01/11/gopaul-bail.html#ixzz1An7EVSe8

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Dad tells of encounter with alleged baby-snatcher
January 15, 2011 2:20pm

A Brampton father of two said he brought his three-week-old infant daughter to Michelle Marie Gopaul eight hours before she allegedly snatched another baby, Roma Patel.

The parents — who have requested anonymity — were bringing their daughter to Gopaul for a Bollywood film audition that offered $15,000 for three days’ work.

But the director’s aide kept changing audition times and locations, starting that morning until the couple arrived at 2:15 p.m.

They waited almost two hours for the “director” to arrive before they finally left.

Gopaul kept asking to feed the child and to take photographs of her.

She also offered the mother a part in the movie and begged them to stay. Gopaul’s behaviour and attire raised red flags, said the father, a business analyst.

She wore gloves indoors as well as heavy makeup and a hat that covered her eyes. She gave them a handwritten form asking their addresses and the child’s “career ambitions”.

His wife wondered if someone would try to “steal our daughter,” the father said, adding he dismissed the notion instantly because “it was the last thing you’d suspect.”

But they did think she might be “trying an identity theft” and called police at 7 p.m. that day.

“When my father phoned me the next day and said that she had been charged with kidnapping, I was speechless,” the dad said.

“I was so angry I couldn’t sleep for two weeks thinking about what could have happened.”

They went to Gopaul’s first court appearance to confirm that this was the same woman posing as “Cynthia”, the director’s aide.

Gopaul, a Manhattan model-actress who is accused of kidnapping a newborn baby under the guise of a Bollywood audition, is in custody. She will be seeking her freedom on Friday at a bail hearing.

Police allege Gopaul, 24, snatched the three-month-old baby Roma Patel around 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 30 during auditions for a commercial at A La Carte Videos at Birmingham St. and Islington Ave.

Baby Roma was found unharmed around 3 a.m., just before an Amber Alert was about to be issued.

The father recalled his first encounter with Gopaul in the early afternoon hours of Dec. 30 when his car pulled up near the Birmingham St. site.

“Are you Paki?” she asked him.

“I thought she was asking me my name and I said, “No.”

When he realized she was asking him his race, he said, “I’m Indian if you’re asking me.”

“I felt sorry for her. I thought she was an idiot,” he said.

“We never left her alone with our daughter,” the father said.

“My wife insisted that I not let her touch our baby.”

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2011/01/15/16901961.html

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Jan. 31 court date for accused in baby abduction
Updated: Fri Jan. 21 2011 12:55:46 PM

TORONTO — A woman charged with kidnapping a baby during a movie casting call in Toronto will have to wait a while longer for her bail hearing.

Michelle Marie Gopaul, 24, appeared in a Toronto court today but the bail hearing was put over to Jan. 31.

The New York City-area model, actress and aspiring singer was charged after a bizarre baby abduction on Dec. 30.

Police allege one-month-old Roma Patel was abducted after her parents took her to a fake casting call for a Bollywood movie shoot advertised on Craigslist.

The unharmed baby girl was returned to her parents a few hours later.

Gopaul was charged with abduction of a person under the age of 14 and has been in jail for about three weeks now.

Her lawyer has said she is a good candidate for bail because she has a student visa and no criminal record.

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110121/alleged-baby-kidnapping-110121/20110121?hub=TorontoNewHome

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Hearing postponed for woman accused of taking baby
January 31, 2011

TORONTO — A woman accused of kidnapping a baby at a Toronto movie casting call has had her bail hearing postponed yet again.

Michelle Gopaul, a 24-year-old model, actress and aspiring singer from New York City, is charged with abducting a child at a bogus casting call on Dec. 30.

Gopaul appeared in court briefly via video this morning, but her lawyer was not present and her hearing was rescheduled for Feb. 7.

When asked whether she had heard from her lawyer, Gary Batasar, Gopaul said he was to appear via video.

Gopaul wore green prison garb and gazed downwards, unmoving.

She was arrested after one-month-old Roma Patel went missing when her parents brought her to Toronto's west end for a Bollywood movie casting call advertised on Craigslist.

The ad offered $15,000 in compensation.

Patel was found in Scarborough, unharmed, later the same day.

Batasar has said that Gopaul is in Toronto on a student visa and was planning on studying at the Fiorio hair salon.

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110131/gopaul-bail-hearing-delayed-110131/20110131/?hub=TorontoNewHome

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Actress who snatched baby sentenced to two and a half years
April 01, 2011


An undated photo from the web of Michelle Gopaul from MySpace

A New York actress who abducted an infant at a fraudulent Bollywood casting call in west-end Toronto last year has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Michelle Marie Gopaul, 25, pleaded guilty Friday in a crime her lawyer said was motivated by “love.”

“When she took the baby, it was a point of no return and she couldn’t take it back,” defence lawyer Gary Batasar said.

After lying to her ex-boyfriend about being pregnant, Gopaul decided to steal an infant to support the lie, the court heard. In what had become a web of deception, Gopaul reportedly posted false updates about her pregnancy on social media websites, where she also promoted her singing and acting career.

Last December, Gopaul arranged a fake Bollywood casting call, asking parents to audition a “newborn baby girl of Indian background” for a potential $15,000 payout. Among the respondents were the parents of one-month-old Roma Patel, who disappeared shortly after arriving for the audition at a production company in Toronto’s west end.

“She realized immediately that she made an error,” Gopaul’s mother, Bridget Gopaul, told reporters outside court, noting her daughter promptly brought the baby to her ex-boyfriend, who returned the child to police.

“She was very upset and she was very confused, but when you’re in love, you’re in love,” Bridget Gopaul said.

Gopaul decided to enter a guilty plea after learning details of the “overwhelming” prosecution case against her, Mr. Batasar said.

“She wanted to demonstrate some remorse by admitting responsibility for what happened and putting the matter to rest, and putting the family and everybody else at ease that it’s over,” he said.

Justice William Wolski imposed the two-and-a-half year prison sentence in response to a joint Crown-defence submission. Gopaul, who had faced a maximum 10-year sentence, will be eligible for parole after serving five months. Upon her release, Gopaul will be deported back to the United States.

Experts say there were many red flags concerning Gopaul’s phony casting call, including the fact that it was advertised on Craigslist. Posted about a week prior to the Dec. 30 audition, the ad stated: “Top pay for Bollywood film. Needs star child for the lead in Born Again. Baby must be a … newborn baby girl of Indian background.”

Gopaul, using a false name, made hasty arrangements on Dec. 30 to rent space inside a west-end production company for the supposed audition, where a number of people came and went throughout the day. After the Patels arrived, Gopaul asked if she could take their baby into a separate room for a few minutes, according to an electrician who was at the scene.

Gopaul then sped off in a cab with the infant, but was arrested by police soon afterward. The baby, Roma, was unharmed.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/04/01/actress-who-snatched-baby-sentenced-to-two-and-a-half-years/